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My favorite art work that I did this semester in class was the project we in which we were supposed to create a piece that touched on a social issue. My project was inspired by Ed Ruscha; his work always appears to be soft and elegant. The simplicity of his pieces is what motivated me to make mine. The issue I chose to discuss was the field mouse going extinct. Many animals today that we wouldn’t expect are going extinct. Like the field mouse, people still perceive them as a pest. The painting I constructed was also enjoyable to paint. I used different forms of the color purple to make the mouse as well as different shades to make the background and base color. It was challenging using only purple to create something that is naturally made up of many different colors but I learned a lot from this experience. Ruscha also would often put words into his paintings, whether they were random or not. I chose the word “vanish” because it is a synonym to extinct but it also promotes more thought and realization that once these animals are gone they aren’t coming back.

Loui Jover is a very diverse artist. The type of art he creates varies from cartoons, to realistic drawings to ink paintings done on articles of newspaper or old text books. Jover describes the theme of his art as “there is a fragility to these images that I find interesting (as if the wind may blow them away at any moment) and the hand drawn stark black lines against the intricate printed words of the book pages offer a strange fusion and depth that seems to give the images a kind of ‘meaning’ and back story, even though unconnected in a contrived way.” The faces that the men and women, but usually women, have an expression on their face that Jover would describe as day dreaming or even soul searching.I admire Louis Jovers art because of its whimsical theme that carrys across all of his paintings he does with ink.

Paul Vexler spoke in the CUB auditorium during the last week of September. Vexler is a local artist from the Seattle area. His pieces have been put in place in local hospitals, office buildings and community colleges in the area. Over the summer one of his works was installed in the CUB near the main entrance. The piece is called the Yellow Knot. It is mainly constructed of thinly sliced wood and small hardware that holds it and suspends it from the ceiling. This structure is 17 feet long that Vexler installed personally. This piece in particular took about a year to create while some of his other works may take up to 2 years. Vexler does not only do hanging structures but also mechanical and and more wooden pieces of art that can be place outside.

The purpose of Vexlers visit to WSU was to inform and share his unique methods of creating his art. He slices the wood so thinly that it can be manipulated into any shape. Carpentry is a big role in how his works are made. Seeing how creative Vexler was when he invented his methods of creating all of his work is inspiring. His career as an artist also began later in his life. Starting a career as an artist at the age of 50 and being as successful as he is.